Spinning-ring.



PATENTED JULY 14, 1903. A. A. LOVEJOY. I

SPINNING RING.

APPLICATION IIL ED SEPT. 6. 1902.

H0. MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented July 14, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED A. LOVEJOY, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO LUCIAN J. FOSDICK, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPINNING=R|NG.

SPECIFICATION, formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 733,495, dated July 14, 1903.

Application filed September 6,1902. Serial No. 122,296. (No model-' To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED A. LOVEJOY, of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spinning-Rings, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to traveler supports or rings for spinning-frames; and its primary object is to provide a ring which will enable spinning -frames to be run at higher speeds than has heretofore been customary with the form of rings in common use and with less severe strains upon the yarn, less wear upon the traveler, and fewer broken ends.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a ring which will not require the frequent accurate adjustments necessary with the rings commonly used in order to keep them leveled to properly cooperate with the travelers.

These objects I accomplish by so mounting the ring in its support or casing that it may move relatively to the casing and providing a spherical guiding surface or surfaces upon either the ring or the casing or upon both ring and casing, which guide and determine the movements of the ring. With this construction the ring may rock upon the spherical guiding-surface to relieve any sudden strain upon the yarn or to level the ring in case it is not in the proper plane, and the ring may also rotate to a greater or less extent under the friction of the traveler. The guidingsu'rface steadies the ring and insures an even and easy movement in the direction to relieve the strain or to bring the ring into proper relation to the spindle. The ring yields readily to relieve the unbalanced strain when running at low speeds or when running at the highest speeds consistent with economy and the ability of the operators to properly care for the spinning-frames and also readily readjusts itself after any displacement, so that there is a more even tension on the yarn in starting and stopping and also when running at full speed than is the case with the fixed rings heretofore commonly used or with the rotary rings, which require an excessivelyhigh speed for their operation.

The location of the spherical guiding surface or surfaces and the arrangement of the same in relation to the race for the travelermay be varied Without departing from my invention, as I believe I am the first to so mount the ring in its casing that it will rock in any direction upon a spherical bearing-surface to relieve the strain upon the yarn. I prefer, however, to so arrange the guiding-surface which determines the movements of the ring that the center of its curvature is outside the ring, (for instance, some distance below the ring,) as with this arrangement I provide a ring which is self-centering as well as selfleveling, since in rocking upon its bearingsurface the ring may shift its position laterally to vary the center of rotation of the traveler as well as to vary its plane of rotation.

In the accompanying drawings Ihave shown several forms of rings and casings embodying the primary feature of my invention, some of which also embody all the features in the preferred forms.

In the drawings, Figure l'is an enlarged sectional view of a ring and casing embodying the features of invention in the preferred form. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged views of modifica tions. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a further modification.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the ring is provided with an annular concavoconvex flange b, the upper surface of which is a convex spherical surface and the under surface of which is a concentric concave spherical surface. This flange is held and guided between two corresponding spherical surfaces d and f on the ring-casing c. The surface d, which engages the upper surface of the flange b, is formed on an overhanging flange or lip e of the casing, and the surfacef, which engages the under surface of the flange b, is formed on a ring g, screw-threaded in the casing c and adjusted so that the flange b is confined and guided between the upper surface of the ring g and the under surface of the flange e. The flange 6 and ring 9 are of such size that there is a space about the outer edge of the flange b, so that the ring a may have a limited rocking movement on the engaging spherical surface in any direction. The ring a is provided with a race it for the traveler t', the race being shown arranged horizontally, although it will be understood that the race may be arranged in any other relation and at any desired angle to the ring. The center of the spherical surfaces is outside of the ring a, being at some distance below the ring, so that in rocking the ring may move bodily in any lateral direction. With this construction if the traveler-race is not in the proper plane the ring may rock on the spherical surfaces until the race is properly leveled, and no adjustments of the casing are therefore necessary to keep the ring properly leveled, as is the case with the rings commonly used. The ring may also move on the guiding-surfaces under any sudden strain or to bring the center of the traveler-race into the axis of the spindle and when moved out of position under an uneven strain may recenter itself under the normal strain of the yarn. In all of its movements, whether in centering itself, leveling itself, or in yielding to relieve strains, the ring is supported and guided by the guiding-surfaces, so that the movements of the ring are steady and even, thus maintaining a more uniform and even tension upon the yarn than is practicable with prior rotary rings, which during the spinning are supported by the yarn, so that they are, substantially, floating rings.

Instead of forming spherical surfaces on both the ring and the casing, as in the construction of Figs. 1 and 2, I may reduce the friction by using ribs in place of one or more of the spherical surfaces. In Fig. 3 I have shown a construction in which an annular rib j on the casing c engages the upper surface of the flange b and maintains the lower surface of the flange in engagement with the spherical surface on the ring g. In the construction of Fig. 4 the flange b is provided with two annular ribs k, which engage the spherical surfaces on the flange e and the ring g. These or other modifications may he employedwithout departing from my invention.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a construction embodying the primary feature of my invention which may be used with advantage, but which does not embrace all the advantages of my preferred arrangement of the spherical guiding surface or surfaces. In this construction the ring a is provided with a spherical surface Z, which engages a similar surface m on the casing c. The center of the spherical surfaces in this construction lies Within the ring, and the traveler race therefore has only a slight lateral movement when the ring rocks on the guiding-surface. The ring may rock, however, to vary the plane of the traveler-race in order to bring the plane into proper relation to the spindle-axis or to relieve strains upon the yarn.

A ring supported and guided upon a spherical guiding-surface will readily yield to relieve strains when the spinning-frame is running at either high or low speeds and will therefore act at all times to regulate the tension and prevent sudden strains, such as will break the yarn. In running at the slower speeds commonly employed there is probably little, if any, rotation of the ring, and the ring merely shifts about upon the guiding surface or surfaces to accommodate the strains upon the yarn. The friction of the traveler on its race has a tendency to rotate the ring, however, and when running at the higher speeds this tendency may be sufficient to cause the ring to rotate more or less, in which case the rotation will be modified by the shifting of the ring on the guiding'surface to accommodate the strains on the yarn.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a ring provided with a race for the traveler, and a casing therefor, one of said parts being provided with a sphericalguiding-surface for determining the movements of the ring, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a ring provided with a race for the traveler, and a casing therefor, one of said parts being provided with a spherical guiding-surface for determining the movement-s of the ring the center of which is outside the ring, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a ring provided with a race for the traveler, a casing therefor, a convex guiding-surface and a concentric concave spherical guiding surface upon said parts for confining and guiding the ringin its movements, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a ring provided with a race for the traveler, and having an annular flange thereon, a convex and a concentric concave spherical guiding-surface between which said flange is confined and guided, sub stantially as described.

5. The combination of a ring provided with a race for the traveler and having an annular concave-convex flange the center of curvat-ure of which is below the ring, and a casing having engaging surfaces between which said flange is confined and guided, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED A. LOVEJOY.

\Vitnesses:

LUoIAN J. FOSDICK, IRA L. FISH. 

